Flying Again
by Diane Klepper
Summary: This story is part two of "Voyager: The First Year" series. Tom has to deal with a first officer who doesn't want him around on his first day of duty at the helm.


Flying Again  
  
By Diane Klepper (Author's Note: This is part two of the series "Voyager: The First Year." This story is set after Tom gets his commission back and is made the chief conn officer on Voyager. This part is dedicated to all the people who sent such nice reviews. Keep reviewing and I will keep writing.)  
  
The stars past by him at a breathe-taking pace as his fingers danced over the comm. panel as if there was a symbiotic connection. Tom Paris smiled. He thought he would feel a little rusty after not flying for over a year but to him flying was always in his blood. . His Starfleet Academy flight instructor Commander Adams told Tom that he was born with a gift for flying. "Tom a lot of kids of Starfleet officer come here with hundred of hours of flying, but it takes more than just practice to become a great pilot. Flying is more than mechanical…a good pilot can feel the ship move under their feet. You have that gift son. Don't let your father's ambitions for you take you away from the helm."  
  
That was easy for Commander Adams to say. He didn't have Admiral Paris always there lecturing him that he was a Paris and a lot was expected of him. The only thing that kept Tom going throughout his Academy years was his frequent visits to Sandrine's. In Marseilles he felt free. To the patrons and workers of the bar he was just another customer. They didn't put all their expectations on him to be a great Starfleet officer. The best part of going to the bar was that Sandrine was always there with a beer and a friendly smiled. She would listen to him for hours without ever judging him.  
He just wanted to fly and now for the first time in his life he felt that he could fly without his father looking over his shoulder. He continued to stare out into the vastness of space and smiled at the beauty of it. When he started his shift that morning Captain Janeway was on the bridge. An hour into flying Janeway walked over to Tom's chair and then placed her right hand on his right shoulder. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and said in a low voice so only he would hear asked, "Tom how are feeling?"  
  
Tom turned a little to face her and gave her a small smile, "I feel great ma'am."  
  
Janeway flinched a little at Tom calling her ma'am but then returned his smile and said, "It's not crunch time Mr. Paris…but I'm glad you are doing well."  
  
Janeway then walked back to her chair and sat down. Tom peaked at him and noticed that she was reading a padd. Tom turned back to his panels and continued to fly towards Earth.  
  
The morning shift was very uneventful. Two hours into Tom's shift Commander Chakotay came until the bridge. He walked over to Janeway and smiled at her. "Good morning Captain."  
  
Janeway looked up at him and said. "Commander…I hope you're all moved into your new office."  
  
Smiling Chakotay said, "I am."  
  
Janeway stood up. "Good…Commander you have the bridge…I'll be in my ready room."  
  
Chakotay sat in his chair and then scanned the crew. As he glanced at everyone on the bridge until he glanced at the back of Tom Paris's head. From his seat he checked the readouts on his computer screen and then he walked over to the pilot's chair and said in an angry voice. "Paris…your off course."  
  
Tom turned to face him. "Commander…"  
  
"Lieutenant. Paris you are two hundredths of a degree off the programmed course."  
  
"You've got to be kidding?"  
  
"Paris I take my job very serious…and I expect everyone on this ship to take their job seriously too."  
  
Tom bit his lip, trying to hold back a sarcastic comment. "Commander I do take my job very seriously…I had to alter the course a little to get out of the way of space debris."  
  
"Then why didn't you report the course change?"  
  
"For two hundredths of a degree…I didn't think it was necessary.  
  
Chakotay frowned at him. "Paris this ship is a Starfleet ship…the regulations say that any course correction no matter how small has to be reported to the person in command of the bridge…Is that understood Mr. Paris."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I didn't hear you."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Chakotay said, "That's better," and walked back to him chair.  
  
The rest of the morning the shift seemed to drag on. Every-time Tom glanced at the Commander, Tom saw his dark eyes staring at him. He just knew Chakotay was waiting for him to make a mistake so he could have him removed from the comm. At last it was lunchtime and his relief pilot Ensign Batehart relieved him. As he got to the turbo-  
lift he noticed that Harry was waiting for him. The lift stopped and Tom walked into the turbo-lift followed by Harry.  
  
Harry smiled at Tom. "So how was it being behind the helm again."  
  
Tom gave Harry a small smile. "It was great Harry…I didn't realize how much I missed flying until I got behind the helm again…I just wish Chakotay didn't spend all his time trying to catch me messing up."  
  
Harry frowned at his friend. "Tom it is regulations to report any course changes."  
  
"Harry…this has nothing to do with regulations….Chakotay hates me…You didn't see the look in his eyes when he first came aboard Voyager and saw me on the bridge."  
  
"I thought he promised to be your bodyguard so the Maquis would leave you alone."  
  
"Harry…Harry…Harry…he only made that promise to look good in front of Captain Janeway."  
  
"You know Tom…he is the first officer…You are going to have to try to get along with Commander Chakotay."  
  
"I know that Harry." The turbo-lift stopped and Tom and Harry got out. They headed to the mess hall and walked into the room. They each grabbed a rations pack and a tray that was on the counter because until all the repairs were finished the replicators were off line for anything that was non-essential.  
  
They started eating their meals trying not to notice how bland and dry their ration packs of chicken were. Tom looked up from his meal and said, "Hey Harry…want to hang out in my quarters after dinner…I have an old pack of cards….maybe we can play some poker."  
  
"Sorry Tom…B'Elanna and I are going to go over some engineering reports after dinner…you can join us."  
  
Tom smirked. "I don't think so Harry…I'm going to stay a far away as I can from the Maquis for a while."  
  
"Come on Tom…I think you and B'Elanna can become friends…Didn't you know her when you were with the Maquis?  
  
"I wasn't really with the Maquis long enough to make any friends…Besides I think Chakotay told her to stay away from me."  
  
"Tom…we are going to be on Voyager for a long time… I think you should try to make some more friends."  
  
Tom gave a little smirk, "What Harry…you are already getting tired of me?"  
  
"No…but Tom you should try to get along better with the rest of the crew…you are a senior officer…you have to set a good example."  
  
Tom frowned, "Damn it Harry…You are sounding just like my father…He always gave me these long- winded speeches on the proper behavior of a Starfleet officer."  
  
"Tom…"  
  
Before Tom could respond he heard a voice from behind his say. "Mr. Paris."  
  
Both Tom and Harry turned to look and they saw Commander Chakotay standing there looking all prim and proper in his Starfleet uniform. Tom stood up, "Commander…is there something you want?"  
  
"Yes Mr. Paris…I would like to see you in my office after your shift today."  
  
Tom was about to say something but he saw Harry give him a pleading look to behave and Tom just said. "Yes, sir."  
  
Chakotay nodded and then said to both Tom and Harry. "Gentlemen, enjoy your lunch." .  
Tom and Harry both watchedChakotay walk out the messhall. Harry gave Tom a little smile. "Maybe it's good that he wants to meet with you…You both can clear the air."  
  
Tom stood up and picked his tray up. "Maybe he finally convinced Janeway I can't be trusted and he going to make me spend the next seventy years working for maintenance."  
  
Harry frowned, "Tom that won't happen…Captain Janeway knows you are the best pilot on this ship."  
  
Tom gave Harry a small smile. "I hope you right…I'm not hungry Harry….I'll see you on the bridge." Tom walked over to the recycler and disposed of his tray and walked out of the mess hall.  
  
Tom entered the bridge a minute before his shift was about to start and he nodded to Chakotay who was sitting in his command chair. The afternoon shift seemed to drag on and Tom noticed that whenever he peaked at the Commander he seemed to be staring at him. He was relieved when two hours into his afternoon shift Captain Janeway came onto the bridge and Chakotay left to do some paperwork  
  
Tom was so busy thinking about his meeting with Chakotay he didn't notice that his shift was over until he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Ensign Batehart standing there waiting to relieve him. He stood up and gave Batehart the information he needed and headed for the turbolift.  
  
Tom found himself in front of Chakotay's office. He noticed that his hands were sweating and he absentmindedly wiped them on his uniform pants. As he pressed the chime he felt like he was eight years old again and being called into his father's study for either a lecture or punishment…usually both. It never surprised Tom that Admiral Paris was considered to be one of the best speakers at Starfleet Command functions because his father could talk about Starfleet procedures for hours. By the time Tom was fifteen he was able to drone out most of the lectures by saying "Yes, sir" and "I'll try harder" at the right moments.  
  
Tom heard a voice said, "Come in", and the door opened. Tom walked in and saw Commander Chakotay sitting at his desk and reading a padd. Tom walked over to the desk and stood at attention waiting for Chakotay to say something.  
  
Chakotay seeing Tom stand in perfect attention put the padd on the desk. "Mr. Paris…Captain Janeway has shown a lot of faith in your abilities because of your actions during the Caretaker incident….and I can't argue that you are an excellent pilot."  
  
"But…."  
  
"I don't know if we can trust you…I'm in charge of making the crew schedule and I want to know if your so called rehabilitation is real or are you just conning us until something better comes along."  
  
Tom bit back a sarcastic comment. "Commander…I know I made a lot of mistakes in the past…but I'm not the same person you knew when I was in the Maquis…I had a lot of time to think when I was in the penal colony…"  
  
"What did you think about?"  
  
"My future….If I had one…I promised someone special that if I ever got another chance to fly again I would do everything I could not to mess up again….Chakotay you're a pilot….You must feel the freedom when your hands are at the control of a ship…After Caldik Prime and the penal colony I never thought I would get the chance to fly again…When Captain Janeway gave my back my commission and made me the chief conn officer of Voyager I promised her that I would not let her down and I intend to keep that promise."  
  
"That's a nice speech Paris but I how do I know I can trust you…In the Maquis you were a drunk and a womanizer…How do I know those qualities won't come out again."  
  
"Commander…you were a member of a terrorist group and Captain Janeway is giving you her trust."  
  
Chakotay stood up angrily. "That was different…I was fighting to protect my people and my home…The Captain knows that…You on the other hand joined the Maquis to get money to pay your bar tabs."  
Tom nodded. "I know that…but I'm not that person anymore…or I'm trying not to be that person…All I'm asking for is a chance…besides I did risk my life to save yours on the Ocampa home-world."  
  
"I appreciate the fact that you saved me Paris…I just want to make sure that the man I entrust to Voyager's helm is the man you have been the last few days…not the man I knew from the Maquis."  
Tom looked at her sincerely. "It is Commander."  
  
Chakotay looked at Tom and gave a small smile. "Then I'll see you on the bridge tomorrow…but remember I'll still be keeping a close eye on you until I'm satisfied…understand Lieutenant."  
Tom gave him a small smile. "Understood, sir."  
  
"Goodnight, Lieutenant."  
  
"Goodnight, Commander." Tom left Chakotay's officer and walked to the turbolift. He was going to go to the messhall to get dinner. Maybe he would join Harry and his new Maquis friend B'Elanna Torres. If he could convince Chakotay that he was sincere about being a good officer on Voyager maybe he could convince both the Maquis and Starfleet officer he wasn't so bad after all. He had to admit to himself that surviving the next seventy years with only one friend would be hard. For the first time since he stepped on Voyager Tom felt at home and he hoped that feeling would last all the way back to the Alpha Quadrant. . 


End file.
